Palestinian police officers attend the funeral of Rushdi Tamimi, who died of injuries sustained during clashes Saturday with Israeli security forces during a protest against Israel’s operation in Gaza. Tuesday’s funeral took place in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Efforts to end the battle between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas continued Tuesday.

JERUSALEM — Diplomatic efforts accelerated Tuesday to end the lethal confrontation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza on one of the most violent days yet in the conflict, as the United States sent Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Middle East, while Egypt’s president and his senior aides expressed confidence that a cease-fire was close.

But by late evening there was no announcement, and Clinton said she would be working in coming days to complete an agreement. Appearing beside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to speak briefly to the media, Clinton said she hoped to achieve an end to the hostilities with a deal that moves “toward a comprehensive peace for all people in the region.”

With a cessation of hostilities possibly just hours away, both sides stepped up their attacks late Tuesday.

Israeli aerial and naval forces assaulted several Gaza targets in multiple strikes, including a suspected rocket-launching site near Al Shifa hospital, which killed more than a dozen people. Those deaths brought the total number of fatalities in Gaza to more than 130 — roughly half of them civilians, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

A delegation visiting from the Arab League canceled a news conference at the hospital because of the Israeli aerial assaults as wailing ambulances brought victims in, some of them decapitated.

Militants in Gaza fired a barrage of at least 200 rockets into Israel, killing an 18-year-old Israeli soldier — the first military casualty on the Israeli side since the hostilities broke out last week. Israeli officials said a civilian military contractor working near the Gaza border was also killed, bringing the total number of fatalities in Israel from the past week of rocket mayhem to five.

“Each side will keep shooting until the last possible moment,” said one Israeli military official currently based along the Gaza border, who agreed to speak only on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to a McClatchy Newspapers reporter. “We each have to show that we didn’t retreat first.”

As the final details of the cease-fire apparently were being refined, both sides claimed victory. Israel said the week-long assault on Gaza had improved security for thousands of Israelis who have been targeted by Hamas-fired rockets. Hamas said the fighting had given it greater legitimacy among the Arab nations.

Senior Egyptian officials in Cairo said Israel and Hamas, the militant Islamist group that governs Gaza, were “very close” to a cease-fire agreement that could be announced within hours.

“We have not received final approval, but I hope to receive it any moment,” said Essam el-Haddad, President Mohammed Morsi’s top foreign affairs adviser.

Foreign diplomats who were briefed on the outlines of a tentative agreement said it had been structured in stages — first, an announcement of a cease-fire, followed by its implementation for 48 hours. That would allow time for Clinton to involve herself in the process on the ground here and create a window for negotiators to agree on conditions for a longer-term cessation of hostilities.

By late evening, however, there was no word on an announcement, and Israeli television was saying the talks needed more time. In Cairo, Egyptian news reports quoted Hamas officials as blaming Israel for delaying a deal and an announcement was unlikely before Wednesday.

The announcement of Clinton’s active role in efforts to defuse the crisis added a strong new dimension to the multinational push to avert a new Middle East war.

Clinton, who accompanied President Barack Obama on his three-country Asia trip, left Cambodia on her own plane immediately for Israel, and upon arrival in the late evening went into immediate talks with Israeli leaders.

She was scheduled to visit the West Bank later to meet with Palestinian leaders and then go to Cairo to consult with Egyptian officials.

Clinton will not meet with Hamas representatives on her trip, but with the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, which is at odds with the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip.

“We do not engage directly with Hamas,” said Benjamin Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser to Obama.

One State Department official, speaking only on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to a reporter, said Clinton had no specific agenda other than encouraging the sides to reach agreement. “Sometimes there’s no substitute for showing up,” the official said.

The New York Times and McClatchy Newspapers contributed to this story.

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